Marie Hegeler Carus-an accidental engineer

Summary form only given. Marie Henriette Hermine Hegeler was born in LaSalle, IL, USA in January 1861. She was born on the grounds of the Matthiessen & Hegeler Zinc Co. (M&H), and grew up around the plant. She often accompanied her father in his work at the plant. By the age of 16, she was working in the weigh office and later worked in many other departments throughout the factory. Marie Hegeler was the first woman graduate from the University of Michigan's Department of Chemistry and Engineering. In 1886 she became a director at M&H. She married Dr. Paul Carus in 1888. In 1903, Marie Hegeler Carus was elected president of M&H and served from 1903 to 1914, 1916 to 1918 and 1933 to 1936. She died in 1936. Both in her lifetime and today, her accomplishments have been marginalized. This paper is an attempt to rectify this.